Walsh (John) Park

Alert

Please be advised: The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning. Due to expected high winds, the Lakefront Trails will be closed from Oak St. to Ohio St. and the Navy Pier Flyover beginning at 12 a.m. on Saturday, January 19, until conditions improve and are safer for use by our patrons and crews. Please check back for updates.

Welcome to Walsh Park Playground!

Walsh Park Green Landscape

Location:

1722 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614

Supervisor: Vivian Garcia

Phone Numbers:
Main
(312) 742-7769

Features:Parks

Hours

Park
Hours

Sunday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Monday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Tuesday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Wednesday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Thursday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Friday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Saturday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Description

This park is located in the West Town neighborhood (west of the Kennedy Expressway, at Ashland Avenue, a little more than one block north of North Avenue). Situated on 2.18 acres, the park contains an athletic field, basketball hoops, a playground, and a dog-friendly area. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Adams, Oz, or Trebes Park.

This park is directly adjacent to The 606, and serves as a major point of access for residents.

History

Walsh Park occupies the former site of a vacant building destroyed in a spectacular and deadly fire on July 7, 1970. Firefighter John P. Walsh, Jr. (1923-1970), for whom this West Town park is named, died five weeks after being critically injured while fighting the stubborn blaze. Walsh had served as a United States Marine before joining the Chicago Fire Department in 1951. He had been assigned to Hook & Ladder Company 44. Several months after Walsh's death, the Dana Civic Organization requested that the Chicago Park District develop the fire-scarred site as a neighborhood park. The park district had acquired the 2-acre property by the end of 1972, with the help of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Improvements began the following year. The 2-acre park includes playground equipment, an athletic field, basketball hoops, and a sand box.